Novel-novel oleh Jay Ann

ISABELLA’S POV For several seconds, I forgot how to breathe. The woman standing behind my father was older than the woman in the portrait Orion had shown me. Silver streaked her hair, and exhaustion had carved lines around her eyes. Her clothes were worn, and there was a faint scar near her temple, but none of that mattered. I knew her. Somewhere deep inside me, beneath years of forgotten memories and unanswered questions, I knew her. “My little star.” The words broke something open inside my chest. I took a step toward her. “Mother?” Her lips trembled. “Yes, my darling.” I shook my head, tears blurring my vision. I had imagined this moment so many times that I had stopped allowing myself to believe it could ever happen. In some dreams, my mother came back and explained everything. In others, she stood far away, unable to reach me. But she was here. She was real. And she was looking at me as though she had been waiting for this moment for years. I ran to her. She caugh

ISABELLA’S POV Malrec clapped slowly. “How touching. A family reunited through tears and regrets.” He stepped away from the barrier. “Now, Isabella, we can stop pretending. You have heard the truth. You know why you were hidden. You know what your father sacrificed.” He held out his hand. “Come to me, and I will release him.” Rex stiffened. “No.” Malrec ignored him. “One step across the marked circle. That is all I ask.” I looked at the floor. A ring of black symbols surrounded the barrier. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now I could see that the markings were connected to the chains holding my father. “What happens if I step inside?” I asked. Malrec’s expression was almost gentle. “The Heart will recognize your presence. Its power will flow through the chamber, and I will finally be able to stabilize it.” “By controlling Eira.” “By giving Eira the guidance it desperately needs.” Eira’s voice whispered inside my mind. “Isabella, he is not telling the truth.” I look

ISABELLA’S POV“Do not let him open the Heart!”Eira’s warning rang through my mind, but I could barely understand what it meant. My father was standing behind a wall of black light, looking at me with eyes that were somehow familiar despite the years separating us.He was alive.He was real.And he was looking at me as though he had spent every day of his life waiting for this moment.“Isabella,” he whispered again.I took a step forward.“Dad?”His eyes filled with tears. He tried to stand, but the chains around his wrists pulled him back. I heard the painful clatter of metal against stone, and something inside me snapped.“Let him go!”Malrec smiled.“Such a beautiful reunion. I wonder whether it will be as beautiful when you discover what your father has done.”“Don’t listen to him,” my father said urgently. “Whatever he tells you, don’t believe him.”Malrec tilted his head.“Still protecting her with half-truths, aren’t you, Alaric?”Alaric.My father’s name.I held on to it as i

Isabella’s POVWe entered the path just before midnight.The alliance camp had been left under Elara’s command, while General Varos remained behind with a small group of soldiers. He had argued that the Heart was too important to leave without military protection, but Rex had reminded him that an army could not protect something it did not understand.Varos had not liked that answer.I suspected he didn’t like Rex very much either.Our group was small. Rex, Orion, Cassian, Elara, and four trusted soldiers accompanied me. Eira’s light moved ahead of us, floating just above the ground.The path passed between towering trees whose branches twisted together overhead. Strange symbols glimmered on their trunks, appearing and disappearing as we walked.I kept my eyes forward.The farther we traveled, the quieter the world became.No insects.No birds.Not even the sound of leaves moving in the wind.“Is it always this silent?” I whispered.“No,” Orion replied. “The Hollow is listening.”I lo

Isabella’s POV“Come find him.”Malrec’s voice disappeared into the wind, but the words remained in my mind.I stood staring at the mountains, unable to move. Somewhere beyond them was a man I had spent my entire life believing I had lost. A man who knew I existed. A man who had apparently been calling out to Eira, asking it to protect me.My father.I had so many questions that I didn’t know which one to ask first.Was he hurt? Did he know I was coming? Had he watched over me from a distance while I grew up with another family? And if he had been alive all these years, why had nobody told me?Most of all, I wanted to know whether my mother was alive too.“Isabella.”Rex’s voice brought me back to the present.I turned toward him. His expression was serious, but there was warmth in his eyes.“We need to prepare before we leave,” he said. “Malrec wants us to rush into whatever trap he’s created. We shouldn’t make it easy for him.”“I know.”“Do you?”I frowned. “What is that supposed t

(Isabella’s POV) “Say it again.” My voice barely came out. The words Eira had spoken continued to echo inside my head. Your father is still alive. I stared at the glowing entrance of the Heart, waiting for Eira to explain itself. Nothing happened. The light around the doorway simply pulsed softly, almost like a heartbeat. Rex was still beside me. His hand had found mine again, and this time I held on tightly. “My father?” I whispered. Eira’s voice came gently through the air. “Yes.” My chest tightened. “My father is alive?” “Yes.” I looked toward Orion. The old guardian had gone completely still. Cassian was no different. That was enough to tell me they knew more than they were saying. “You knew,” I said. Neither answered. I stepped toward them. “You knew my father was alive.” Orion lowered his eyes. “Isabella…” “No.” My voice cracked. “Don’t call my name like that. Answer me.” Rex moved slightly closer, but he didn’t stop me. I needed this. I needed the